Paso de la Amada: Sociopolitical dynamics in an early formative community.

Abstract

Feasting and the circulation of valuables are two domains of activity typically linked to prestige in kin-based societies. Jonathan Friedman and Michael Rowlands (1978) propose that a feedback relationship between these two domains can generate new forms of social inequality, specifically, the emergence of hierarchical relations between corporate kin-groups characteristic of chiefdoms. The trajectory of Early Formative organizational change in the Mazatan zone on the Pacific Coast of Chiapas, Mexico, appears to follow that described by Freshman and Rowlands. At the large village site of Paso de la Amada, the settlement pattern soon after 1400 b.c. consisted of large buildings evenly spaced across the site, each surrounded by a cluster of small residences. However, by 1300 b.c., one large building (Mound 6) was being repeatedly enlarged and elaborated, while others fell into disuse. The sequence of platform construction suggests the emergence of hierarchical relations among neighborhoods, which collapsed around 1100 b.c. when Mound 6 was abandoned. Previous investigators have argued that chiefdoms emerged in this region by 1350 b.c., and that Mound 6 was linked to an emerging elite group. An analysis of midden materials from the site of Paso de la Amada does not support Freshman and Rowlands' model. Circulation of valuables was examined by looking at ornaments and imported goods. No differences in access to these items were identified at the site during the ascendancy of Mound 6 (especially 1250 to 1100 b.c.); only after the abandonment of the large mound, around 1100 b.c., did some areas of the site have preferential access to imported materials and ornaments. The question of feasting was addressed in the ceramic analysis by examining the distribution of decorated serving vessels and very large feasting vessels. No differences in the use of these items among different areas of the site was identified during the period 1400 to 1000 b.c. Assumptions made by Freshman and Rowlands concerning the uses of valuables and the devolution of social credit for feasts may not be appropriate for Early Formative Paso de la Amada. Another assumption is that the media used to represent and negotiate status remain constant over time; at Paso de la Amada, the emergence of economic inequalities coincides with a shift in the media of status differentiation.